October 20, 2020
Medal of Honor: America’s Highest Military Decoration, Explained
The Medal of Honor has evolved greatly since it was first introduced in 1862.
by Peter Suciu
The Medal of Honor, the United States Military’s highest decoration, is not an award most of us will encounter very often. And apart from those belonging to the original receipts or their families, the medals are often something you’re only likely to see in a museum—as very few are in private collections in the United States.
The history of this highest decoration dates back to the American Civil War when Iowa Senator James W. Crimes introduced a bill to "promote the efficiency of the Navy" by authorizing the production and distribution of “medals of honor.†Within months a similar bill was introduced for an award for privates of the U.S. Army. The wording and nature of the bills changed, including that this award would be for soldiers of all services and all ranks. On July 12, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed into law the authorization of the Medal of Honor.
https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/medal-honor-america%E2%80%99s-highest-military-decoration-explained-171018
